ANN ARBOR -- As Greg Mattison continues to survey what his defense will look like next season, there are two things that stand out above the rest.

Next year, he won't likely have to continually harp on every excruciating detail of "why" Michigan does what it does on defense. And, on top of that, his linebacker corps will be the deepest its been during his second stint in Ann Arbor.

Freshman Ben Gedeon happens to touch on both of those areas.

"Give him an offseason. Get the freshman out of him. And all of a sudden, boy, you've got a linebacker," Mattison said last week. "(Fans) will be very happy with Ben Gedeon, I'll put my name on that one -- this guy's going to be a heck of a football player."

Gedeon is just one piece of Michigan's linebacker puzzle heading into next season, but he could be an incredibly valuable one at that.

The freshman saw extensive snaps during Michigan's final road game of the season at Iowa with James Ross III and Desmond Morgan suffering from injuries, and played a ton in the season-finale against Ohio State with Ross ailing once again.

He wasn't perfect, and neither was the defense as a whole, but he did make some plays.

And, more importantly for Mattison, he competed on every snap -- and showed the type of mental growth that helps a player make a large leap between year one and year two.

"Not having to coach him on every play," said Mattison when asked what the biggest difference will be next season with a player like Gedeon. "Just, 'here's the coverage, go.' Instead of (having to explain every detail of the coverage).

"He's very smart and he wants to be a good football player."

As far as the rest of the puzzle goes? Well, it's basically unchanged.

Michigan will lose senior captain Cam Gordon, a part-time starter this season, and it will move junior Brennen Beyer down to the defensive line exclusively next season.

But it brings back its top three players in strong-side backer Jake Ryan, inside backer Morgan and weak-side backer Ross.

Also back is Gedeon and sophomore Joe Bolden, who both saw heavy snaps -- especially late in the season.